HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) — The sighting of endangered Piping plovers nesting at Hampton Beach has prompted officials to cancel the first two fireworks shows of the summer season.
Hampton Beach Village District Commissioner Chuck Rage said there are two pairs of plovers nested where fireworks are set off, the Portsmouth Herald reported.
Piping plovers are endangered in New Hampshire and threatened nationally. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Endangered Wildlife Program has been monitoring and protecting breeding piping plovers and their habitat on the seacoast since 1997.
The small bird nests each year on the southern end of the beach in the sandy dunes at Hampton and Seabrook beaches
Rage said that they expect the first pair to abandon their nest in the next two weeks and expects shows the resume starting June 30.
According to Rage, if the first pair leaves, fireworks can be set off in a new location on the beach across from the Boardwalk Inn and Cafe, where the second pair would not be disturbed.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department reports that there are 13 pairs at Hampton and Seabrook beaches this year.
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